Concert Scene: McGraw and Hill bring star power to Hershey

By Marty FranzenCorrespondent

Wednesday

Jun 6, 2018 at 6:00 PM

Columnist Marty Franzen highlights shows by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill as well as other acts playing in the area this week

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill became stars in their own right in the early 1990s, McGraw with the hit singles “Don’t Take the Girl,” “Not a Moment Too Soon,” “Indian Outlaw” and “I Like It, I Love It” and Hill with the hits “Wild One,” “Piece of My Heart,” “Take Me As I Am” and “It Matters to Me.” So when the two got married in 1996, their star power got even bigger.

In recent year, the duo has capitalized on that power with two-for-one billings, offering up individual hit songs and duets in concert. The current McGraw-Hill tour comes to the Hersheypark Giant Center, at 550 W. Hersheypark Drive, Hershey, Tuesday night.

A two-hour show by either of these superstars would be great, but two hours (18 songs) by both of them has to be satisfying for concertgoers. McGraw and Hill released a duo album last year, “The Rest of Our Life,” which they will be featuring at this show, along with Hill favorites “Free,” “Breathe” and “Stronger” and McGraw standouts “Real Good Man” and “Humble & Kind.”

So who is the bigger star? According to the statistics, McGraw has released 14 studio albums, 10 of them reaching No. 1. He has charted 25 No. 1 singles, won three Grammys, 14 ACM awards, 11 CMA awards and sold 75 million records worldwide. For her part, Hill (who hasn’t released a solo album in 13 years) has won five Grammys and 15 ACM awards, while selling more than 40 million albums worldwide.

Show time is 7:30. Tickets are $66.65-$86.65. Call 717-534-3911.

U2

Toward the end of Tom Snyder’s “Tomorrow” show stint on NBC, he showcased new bands like Adam and the Ants and U2.

I didn’t record U2’s performance back then, but I do remember that Snyder could only interview two band members, so he pointed to them: “You’re Bono and you’re The Edge.” It was as if aliens had just landed in the studio.

Now, 38 years after the band’s 1980 debut album “Boy,” U2 dominates the rock music world. The king of all rock bands — the Rolling Stones — records infrequently, but U2 remains relevant, due to its pop sensibility, its political leanings and its continued releasing of new albums.

Last year, the band issued “Song of Experience,” which featured the new tunes “Love is All We Have Left,” “You’re the Best Thing About Me,” “Summer of Love,” “The Showman,” “Landlady” and “13 (There is a Light). This Wednesday (and next Thursday) U2 appears at the Wells Fargo Center, at 3601 S.Broad St., Philadelphia, to debut some of those songs, along with such favorites as “I Will Follow,” “Beautiful Day,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “Vertigo” and “Staring at the Sun.” The band’s 24-song set covers 10 albums, reaching as far back as “Boy,” “War” and “October.”

To date, U2’s biggest critical and commercial success is 1987’s “The Joshua Tree,” an album that spawned the No. 1 singles “With or Without You” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” Over the years, the band has sold more than 170 million albums worldwide, mostly from its 14 studio releases. U2 has won 22 Grammys, been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (2005) and been named the No. 22 artist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.

Show time is 8. Tickets are $41-$325. Call 800-298-4200.

POSIES

Don’t be embarrassed if you haven’t heard of the Posies. The Seattle rock group never charted an album or single on Billboard’s main charts. The band did chart twice on that magazine’s Modern Rock Tracks chart, with “Golden Blunders” (which was subsequently covered by Ringo Starr) and “Dream All Day” back in the early 1990s.

Since then, the Posies has released eight albums and split up almost that many times. That makes the band’s Wednesday concert at World Café Live, at 3025 Walnut St., Philadelphia, even more surprising for fans of its rock and power pop sounds. You see, co-songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow write in opposing styles, sometimes harmonizing like the Hollies and other times sounding like a typical, Washington alternative band.

The Posies’ 2016 album “Solid States” will finally be covered at this show, in the songs “Squirrel vs. Snake,” “We R Power” and “Radiance.” During a 22-song set, the group also should perform the album favorites “Ontario,” “Suddenly Mary” and “Please Return It.” If you didn’t think groups made Beatles-type music anymore, this is the concert for you.

Show time is 8. Tickets are $20-$22. Call 215-222-1400.

MICKEY GILLEY/JOHNNY LEE

Let’s hear it for the old guys … country style. Now 82 years old, Mickey Gilley still has a lot of music in him. During last year’s tour, he sang mostly cover tunes, but who wouldn’t like to hear songs made famous by Hank Williams, Anne Murray, Sam Cooke, Bonnie Raitt, Jimmy Buffett, John Lee Hooker, Ronnie Milsap, Toby Keith or Englebert Humperdinck?

You may know Gilley as Jerry Lee Lewis’ cousin, or as the owner of Gilley’s Club (seen in the movie “Urban Cowboy”) or for a music career that started in 1964 with the album “Lonely Wine” and continues today with the 2018 release “Two Old Cats” (with Troy Payne). Whatever the case, Gilley’s set Sunday at the American Music Theatre, at 2425 Lincoln Highway E., Lancaster, should be a strong one.

The same should be true for co-headliner Johnny Lee, 71, who gained fame with the singles “Lookin’ for Love,” “One in a Million,” “The Yellow Rose” and “Do You Love as Good as You Look.” His 2016 album “You Ain’t Never Been to Texas” will be featured during his set.

Show time is 3 p.m. Tickets are $49. Call 800-648-4102.

CONCERT CANCELED

The Cupcakke show scheduled Friday at the Theatre of Living Arts has been canceled. Refunds are available at the point of purchase.

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